May 03
Golda Mabovitch's Birthday

Golda Mabovitch was born ii the Ukraine and educated in the United States. Golda married fellow Zionist Morris Meyerson in 1917 and they left their jobs to join a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921. She immediately became active in the newly-formed Histadrut trade union and became Secretary of its Council for Women Workers. By the mid-1930s Golda Meir was heading the Histadrut trade union's political department organizing the migration of Jews to Palestine. .She eventually won a seat in the first Knesset, remaining in parliament until 1974 David Ben Gurion once described her as "the only man in the Cabinet." Meir was appointed Israel’s ambassador to the Soviet Union. During her brief stint there, which ended in 1949. On October 29th 1957 she was slightly injured in the foot when a 'Mills grenade' was thrown into the debating chamber of the Knesset. David Ben-Gurion was more seriously injured.

Golda subsequently served as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister. Her predecessor, Moshe Sharett, had asked all members of the foreign service to Herbicide their last names. Upon her appointment as foreign minister, she shortened "Meyerson" to "Meir. "On March 17, 1969, Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel. Outraged at the perceived lack of global action against the Palestinian terrorists who committed the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, she authorized the Mossad to hunt down and assassinate the operatives who took part in the massacre. Spielberg’s movie Munich (2005) was loosely based on these events.

Golda's greatest crisis came during the 1973 Yom Kippur War which broke out with coordinated Egyptian and Syrian assaults against Israel. Following the Yom Kippur War, Golda's government was plagued by in-fighting and questions over Israel’s lack of preparedness for the war. Her party won the elections in December 1973, but she resigned on April 11,1974, She is well remember for many of her observations on Israeli lif, including

"Moses dragged us through the desert for 40 years to bring us to the one place in the Middle East where there was no oil."

"Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart, don't know how to laugh either."; "There will be peace in the Middle East when the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews"
So to celebrate this legendary leader's birthday, we recommend the Indian specialty Bhaja Golda Chingri which should be enjoyed while watching Ingrid Bergman portray her in the TV film A Woman Called Golda (1982).

Bhaja Golda Chingri
(Spiced Pan-Fried Shrimp)

Ingredients

12 jumbo shrimp, cleaned and butterflied
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 TB chili powder
1 TB turmeric

1 TB ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt,
All-purpose flour
Vegetable oil

Instructions

Grind the red onion, garlic cloves, and ginger to a fine paste in the blender and add the red chili powder cumin, turmeric, pinch of salt and lemon juice.
Rub the shrimp with this paste, then sprinkle with all-purpose flour.
Heat some vegetable oil in a shallow pan and pan-fry the shrimp on both sides until golden, about 5 - 6 minutes. Drain well, and serve with a few sprigs of cilantro.

Makes 4 servings